Uptake of (3H) corticosterone and the immune response in growth-retarded rats.

Abstract

Extract: Maternal rats were underfed during pregnancy and lactation. At 7 days of age their offspring received one injection of sheep erythrocytes. The immune response (hemolytic plaque-forming cells in spleen and thymus) to this antigen showed a peak at 15 days of age in undernourished rats, 2 days later than in normal animals. However, the size of this response at its peak was, in the undernourished group, at least appropriate for body weight. Growth retardation during the fetal and suckling periods resulted also in an increased rate of uptake of 3H-corticosterone into spleen and thymus in vivo.Speculation: High rates of corticosteroid entry into spleen and thymus in undernutrition may tend to depress the immune functions of these organs independently of direct nutritional factors. During growth retardation the rate of certain immune responses may be impaired at least as much as their extent.